The 3 Most Probable Twins Trade Targets at Shortstop

I would look hard at the Orioles and Jorge Mateo.. while his bat is average, he played gold glove defense and led the AL in steals with 35.  The Os happen to have an abundance of young shortstops, including BA’s #1 prospect in Gunnar Henderson plus their MILB player of the year - Jordan Westburg.  The only warning I have is.. don’t let Mike Elias pick Falvine’s pocket like he did in the Jorge Lopez trade.  

People!! Stop with the " Average" hitting shortstops!! This lineup can't afford another " Average"  below Average hitter. What are you thinking?

If they don't go big, I'd prefer they don't go at all. My instincts tell me since they let Palacios walk they are planning a trade or FA signing to be a fill in instead. Palacios would have made a good stop-gap player to get to Lewis. Now if that is there plan they will have to look elsewhere unless however, I see no harm in using a combo of Gordon, Polanco, Urshela until one of Lewis/Martin/Lee can take over. This team is going no where in 2023 anyway.

I would be okay with IKF coming back for a short term reunion. He played good defense, hits better than a lot of our SS over the past years (doesn't take much), and getting out of NY might be good for him. Look at what happened Urshela when he left NY. He seemed more relaxed and less likely to press on himself to perform at such a high expectation. He seemed as if he was able to free things up a bit knowing that if he made a mistake it wasn't going to be viewed by some of the most hostile fans in the game today. 

I would skip over the other 2. Ahmed is gonna be another comeback case that won't work out because his shoulder won't hold up over the year. And Crawford is old and won't be able to maintain his range that he had in SF. Especially with our MN cold in the spring and fall. 

I have two words for you. JOSE IGLESIAS

Whoof. None of these are particularly inspiring. 

Crawford has a lot of risk. The ceiling is realistically not that high; 2021 looks like a fluke year nested among a bunch of decline years. Literally everything went right for him in 2021 (including a big jump in BABIP). realistically anyone acquiring him can't expect more than a 2-3 bWAR year...and that's on the high end. He's averaged less than 2 bWAR over the past 5 years, and that's with that huge, all-star performance coming in out of nowhere. Hard pass.

I'd be pretty concerned about handing things over to Ahmed for the season too. Shoulder surgery is not a great injury for a SS and if he's lost any strength in that shoulder, his ability to impact the game defensively will seriously decline no matter how good his glove skills are. Arm strength at SS really matters, and Ahmed offers little offensively to offset it. He had a nice run from 28-30, but was terrible in 2021 and seriously injured in 2022. Pass.

IKF is the best option of the 3, IMHO, but he's not going to get too many people's socks rolling up and down. He's the most likely to stay a strong defensive player and while his offense isn't much (there's no pop in his bat at all, but he's a respectable base-stealer which will make some people happy) He'll hit enough singles to not be a black hole. (and he makes enough contact to avoid the ire of some of the fan base) I'm not enthusiastic, but as a backup plan/bridge option, he's not terrible. His weak bat would be easier to tolerate if we didn't have so many key players coming off injury.

If the goal is a short term solution until Lewis is ready how about IFK and Rortvedt as a package trade for some mid level minor league players? That solves two issues at once: shortstop on a one year deal  and a backup catcher who plays great defense and bats left handed.

Or, use the money they had for Correa and use it to sign a shortstop.  I know they knew Correa was going to opt out, but there was a chance, a small one, that he stayed.  If Correa got injured significantly he likely wouldn’t have opted out and the Twins would have been on the hook for the rest of his deal.  So just use that cash and sign a top tier SS. 

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

Any more requirements you want to add to your question to get the answer you want? Which fast food chain are you interested in going to that’s average, within a 2 mile drive, assuming you don’t want to spend more than $6, and serves McChickens? 

We should be looking for a long term solution at SS. And yep, that’s going to cost some money. The books are damn near pristine from bad investments. The free agent SP market is a graveyard of poor investments. So why not invest on a safer bet like one of the 4 top 10 short stops in the game?

To be fair to Nick, the premise of the article is to look at possible trade options at SS, with essentially the assumption that the Twins fail to sign one of the top FA (or don't make the attempt). He's not saying "The Twins should trade for one of these guys" as the best option for the team, just trying to evaluate what are some likely trade targets that might actually be available.

3 hours ago, Nick Nelson said:

He had a customary season in New York, rating well defensively while not hitting much. Kiner-Falefa experienced the brunt of Yankee fan vitriol and was benched in key late-season situations.

He did have one good DRS month. I think DRS does a good job of describing the past but much like RBIs is opportunity based. I like it best in determining a gold glove winner but I don’t think it is the best in projecting forward. The other defensive metrics might give a different picture of Kiner-Falefa’s defense. His UZR was 0 last year and 1.1 in 2021 suggesting he is an average defensive shortstop. His RAAs was -2 last year and -5 the previous year. Given the mix wouldn’t a more reasonable expectation is that Kiner-Falefa will likely provide an average glove and below average bat at SS? Would Urshela at SS with a mediocre glove and better bat help more overall? 

1 hour ago, Otaknam said:

If the goal is a short term solution until Lewis is ready how

(Question in general not attacking your post)

Ready for what is the question I have? Ready to play baseball, ready to go to the minors? ready to take over full time? What if Royce struggles in his return from injury? What happens if they put Urshela or Gordon there and gets hurt. Haven't we seen enough of a really crappy Plan B approach?

IMO they have to look outside of the organization for a SS for 23 and it makes the most sense to pay cash for one and not prospects, didn't they trade enough of them last year? So the options are sign one of the big 4 to a huge contact and not worry about SS for a while or pay a Simmons type again and hope Lewis/Lee/? do so well that they force their way into the starting lineup this year so this isn't an issue  again next year. If they go stop gap route they better improve their offense in others places because they can't go into next year with questions with 2 outfield positions (hitting wise), Miranda and catcher.

Honestly, if the Twins don't/can't go big with Correa, I don't think I'd trade for any of these three. We've traded enough already. We have the financial flexibility to add via FA. Iglesias and Andrus are probably just as good of an option as these 3 overall. They are probably a step down defensively, (everyone healthy), but probably a step up offensively. And they cost a 1yr deal and no prospects. 

I'd rather go that direction.

Another target could be Nicki Lopez from Kansas City. He splits his time between shortstop and second with good fielding stats at both. Although last year was not a good one for him offensively, in 2021 he was top 5 in hitting in the American league.  With Bobby Witt, probably the future shortstop for KC, along with Aldaberto Mondesi coming off the IL and also Maikel Garcia that both play the position, KC has the position well covered. Garcia is rated has the #5 prospect in the KC system. I'm only guessing but there appears to be an abundance of shortstops in KC for the position.

4 hours ago, RochesterDave said:

I would look hard at the Orioles and Jorge Mateo.. while his bat is average, he played gold glove defense and led the AL in steals with 35.  The Os happen to have an abundance of young shortstops, including BA’s #1 prospect in Gunnar Henderson plus their MILB player of the year - Jordan Westburg.  The only warning I have is.. don’t let Mike Elias pick Falvine’s pocket like he did in the Jorge Lopez trade.  

I absolutely LOVE this idea. He would fit the Twins' need for more speed.

And while being a poor hitter in general, he brings quite a bit of pop. Reminds me of Kahlil Greene at the plate, but with GG caliber defense and could be a top 10 base stealer if he can improve his OBP a bit.

4 hours ago, RochesterDave said:

I would look hard at the Orioles and Jorge Mateo..

I totally agree with this idea, but he would likely be costly. Put aside the trade site that has Larnach worth 50% more than Arraez for a moment and consider how useful the Orioles (any team) find a talent like Mateo. Mateo was moved around and never given much playing time until the Orioles put him in the lineup. Mateo would be a good addition if he can be acquired cheaply just because he can be a non-factor at times offensively. It is really hard to gage what Mateo is worth in my opinion.

44 minutes ago, gman said:

Another target could be Nicki Lopez from Kansas City. He splits his time between shortstop and second with good fielding stats at both. Although last year was not a good one for him offensively, in 2021 he was top 5 in hitting in the American league.  With Bobby Witt, probably the future shortstop for KC, along with Aldaberto Mondesi coming off the IL and also Maikel Garcia that both play the position, KC has the position well covered. Garcia is rated has the #5 prospect in the KC system. I'm only guessing but there appears to be an abundance of shortstops in KC for the position.

Sounds like Mondesi is likely to be non-tendered. Could be a good FA signing if that is the case.

3 hours ago, Fighting4par said:

I have two words for you. JOSE IGLESIAS

He was a below MLB average defender at SS this past season, and at his age, that is likely to be the trend for him. 

And I doubt his bat will play well outside of Colorado. I'm not usually a Rox stadium makes a difference guy, but for a slap hitter with no plate discipline, the large ballpark of the Rockies is a perfect fit for him to be his best.

I'd take him on a minor league deal with a spring invite, but nothing more...and that probably won't get it done.

No to all

Carlos Correa or we aren't serious about winning